Development and validation of a Food Preoccupation Questionnaire.

Existing Food Preoccupation Questionnaires do not take account of food-related thoughts that have a positive emotional valence. We report on the development and validation of a questionnaire that provides independent assessments of thought frequency and emotional valence (positive, negative or neutral). In Study 1 questionnaire items were validated against a three-day diary measure with 40 males and females. In Study 2 the questionnaire was administered to 130 males and females alongside a range of other measures. The questionnaire showed good construct validity, internal reliability, and test-retest reliability. Dieters and females scored higher on frequency and negativity subscales. There was also a significant interaction between sex and diet status on thought frequency, with females showing a stronger relationship between the two. The questionnaire should be useful for exploring the cognitive impact of dieting and relationships between food preoccupation, food processing biases and overeating.

Citation

Katy Tapper, Emmanuel M Pothos. Development and validation of a Food Preoccupation Questionnaire. Eating behaviors. 2010 Jan;11(1):45-53

Mesh Tags

PMID: 19962120

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